Strife: SG-1
by Shade the Hero
Summary: The Ancients created an amazing device that is used throughout the galaxy, However there was one planet that they wanted to remain secret. What does this secret have to do with Cloud Strife and how did he end up a million light years from home? Four strange allies are willing to help him find his way, if he helps them in return.
1. Chapter 1

_I am fascinated by the similarities between FF7 and the StarGate series. There are so many things that just click. I'm also surprised that there aren't more stories for it. Normally I would leave the idea alone until I've caught up with some of my other stories, some of which are long overdue, but after watching some good ol' SG-1 episodes and then seeing a picture of Sephiroth and a Wraith side by side I couldn't ignore it any longer. If anyone was curious, this is an SG-1 crossover. Not Atlantis and not Universe...or was it Continuum? I forget. This is also my first time writing for StarGate SG-1, so go easy on me. ^^;  
><em>

_Final Fantasy belongs to Square Enix, StarGate SG-1 belongs to MGM_

_Enjoy._

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><p><span><em>Chapter One<em>

Something was wrong. Very wrong. The lifestream was in a state of panic. Something had been uncovered. Something that was hidden long ago. For thousands of years it had remained buried and now it had been uncovered. The lifestream turned to the only one who it believed could help. The centra had begun to visit Cloud's dreams.

The first time it happened Cloud thought it was Aerith, but his hopes were dashed when he was surrounded by faceless human-like shapes. In a sea of darkness they appeared as silhouettes of light with the green aura of the lifestream flowing around them. Cloud had opened his mouth to speak, but found he had no voice. The centra had something important for him to listen to and they would not be interrupted.

Cloud had decided he owed them nothing. He had already saved the planet more than once. He was tired of playing the hero and only wanted to lead his own life. He had already made amends with the ghosts of his past. Aerith and Zack had forgiven him, they were the only ones who mattered. The other centra meant nothing to him. It seemed they didn't feel the same.

_"Bury it in rubble," _they said, _"keep it hidden," _they said.

Cloud was tempted to tell them where they could shove it, but alas, they had silenced him. Still they kept saying it over and over. Cloud was helplessly stuck in the dream, unable to wake up until he had successfully fallen off his bed, his head striking the metal rail on the way down. That hurt. But at least it had woken him up. Two nights later however, the centra were back and this time with a vengeance.

_"Forgotten City...find it...bury it...keep it hidden...Forgotten City..."_

They kept repeating it over and over, collective voices growing louder with every loop. Cloud and tried to cover his ears, but it didn't matter. The loops began to blend together, repeating faster and faster swirling around him, making him feel like he was on a merry-go-round of hell. The voices refused to relent, growing louder and louder until their cries mutated into howling wails. He couldn't take it anymore.

"**ALRIGHT!**"

He woke with a start, drenched in sweat, heart racing, trying to catch his breath. He felt almost as bad as when he fought with Sephiroth,...almost. But this was different. Sure Jenova and Sephiroth were major threats to the lifestream and the planet, but the centra never acted this fiercely towards a goal, at least never going as far as screaming their pleas to their savior and nearly driving him mad. This recent lack of sleep was not helping his mood any so when Tifa knocked on his door before peeking in it wasn't easy to hold back his temper when she asked if he was alright.

"I'm fine," he barked.

"...But you were screaming," Tifa replied with a worried look.

"It's nothing. Go back to bed." he insisted as he laid back down and turned to face the wall.

Tifa stood there for a few minutes before sighing in defeat and leaving. Cloud's enhanced hearing listened to her footsteps and heard her reassuring two children that everything was fine.

In truth everything was not fine and Cloud was not going back to sleep. Not with an army of tone-deaf centra waiting. There was only one thing to do. Go to the Forgotten City and see why they seemed so afraid. He was positive that's what their problem was. But what could be so powerful that the ancients feared it more than the calamity?

Under the cover of darkness and making sure he left unnoticed, Cloud mounted Fenrir and headed for the Forgotten City.

_. . ._

Cloud parked Fenrir a safe distance away from the formation where he had fought with Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo. Where he had failed to save the kids. Where Vincent had come and saved him. Now, all of that was a distant memory. He had moved on from that. After all, everything turned out fine in the end. No one else he cared for had died. The children were saved and the sickness known as Geostigma was gone. As he approached the odd formation he noticed strange glowing lights floating around the place. they glimmered like fireflies and as Cloud got closer they began to circle around him.

_"This way..."_

These lights - they were centra? Probably making sure he did as he was told like a good little hero. This pissed Cloud off even more.

"Aerith?" he called out, hoping she was among them, but she never came.

_"Moved on,"_ the child-like voice of a nearby light replied, _"She and the soldier have found peace."_

Cloud knew this was a lie. Zack would never abandon him, even in death. He had every chance to leave Cloud behind before and he didn't. On the run for an entire year and he never once abandoned his friend, even if Cloud was completely useless back then. Aerith was the same - always guiding him when he was lost and showing up in the most unexpected places. Why were the centra keeping them in the dark? Cloud knew asking them for answers would be useless and continued on to find whatever this thing was.

Four long, boring hours later Cloud was leaning against a stone. He head searched the area twice over and found nothing that seemed out of place.

_"You must find it."_ a small centra light told him as it floated near his face.

"It'd help if I knew what I was looking for," he replied with a grumpy tone, one he felt was justified. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in three days and it was starting to show.

Cloud let out a yawn, not caring about keeping himself composed for once. If appeared rude or obnoxious at the moment, he didn't care. He was tired and it was all the stupid centra's fault.

He waited another minute longer before letting out another yawn. "I'm leaving."

_"A ring."_

Cloud stopped at this. "A ring?"

_"A gate."_

Cloud gave the floating lights a deadpan look. "Which is it? A ring or a gate?"

_"Same."_

Cloud covered his eyes with a hand. Why did the centra like confusing him so much? He was tired and cranky and had every intention of walking away. How could a ring and a gate be the same?

Suddenly, as if an unseen force heard his question the ground began to shake and the nearby pool of water began to ripple. There was a strange sound coming from somewhere. It sounded like...spinning metal?

_"Hurry!"_

Cloud needed no second bidding from the centra as he dashed around the corner, though a tunnel in the rock formation, past several crumbled stones that seemed to have been unearthed recently and came upon the strangest sight. Cloud was no stranger to seeing things that were out of the ordinary, but this?...This was just weird.

A large metal ring-shape device that easily stood about twenty feet tall was sticking out of the rock face. Two lights shone on the device as the center of the ring continued to spin. The small lights swarmed around Cloud.

_"You must hurry! Bury it! Do not let it open!"_

"What is that?" Cloud asked.

_"Danger! Death! Worse than calamity!"_

That was all Cloud needed to hear. Taking the Fusion Sword, he began striking out at the surrounding rocks. Hacking and slashing at them in an effort to bury the spinning ring. Five of the lights were glowing as more and more stones piled in front of it.

_"Hurry! Move Faster!"_

"Shut Up!"

It was all Cloud could do to try and bury it. There was no room in the cavern for Omnislash or he would have used that. As he cut and slashed at the stones he revealed another device, one that looked similar to the ring, but much smaller. Cloud ignored it for now. It wasn't glowing like the other one was, so he assumed it was off. Another light lit up on the ring and as Cloud raised his sword once more to strike a seventh light lit up.

_"GET BACK!" _

All of the voices screamed in his head and he lept back just as an explosion of water shot out from the center of the ring like a wave. Cloud glared at the oncoming force and raised his sword, prepared to strike back when the wave receded and spread across the space within the ring.

It was easily one of the strangest things Cloud had ever seen. It was like standing water, but how could that happen? Just what was this thing?

He approached the shimmering wall of water, sword lowered, but still ready to be used. He reached out his hand to touch the pool's surface when a small silver sphere rolled out of the pool and burst into a blinding light.

Cloud shielded his eyes, but there was something wrong about this light. It...hurt. He was overwhelmed with an intense pain before everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

_I'm extremely grateful that there is an actual list of Goa'uld words and phrases. I've been a fan of the show for years, but the language can be a bit tricky. Also decided to use a Goa'uld that has been mentioned in the show but also has connections to both SG-1 and FF7...kinda. that connection will be revealed in upcoming chapters. _

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><p><span><em>Chapter Two<em>

When Cloud woke his world was still black. At first he thought he was back in that same dream and waited a minute for the lifestream to appear. He'd probably get an earful from them, since he wasn't able to bury their precious ring,...or whatever that thing was. Whether the lifestream liked it or not, Cloud was planning to give both Vincent and Reeve a call.

He heard movement and turned in the direction of the sound.

"Well, good morning sunshine," came a voice to his left.

Cloud slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. Something was wrong, even in the darkest of rooms his mako-enhanced eye sight should have at least made out shapes. He saw nothing.

Another movement from the other side of the room caught his attention. Cloud wondered who these two were. The first person didn't sound like anyone he knew. That same person noticed his strange actions.

"What's he doin'?" the first one asked the second.

Cloud had been trying to blink away his blindness, wondering how the others could see, yet he couldn't.

"I believe he is trying to recover from the effects of a Goa'uld shock grenade."

Cloud turned his head in the general direction of the second man. So, that was what that strange ball was.

The first man didn't seem phased by the new information, if anything he seemed optimistic.

"Well, don't worry sparky, it'll wear off."

"Who are you, and Where am I?" Cloud didn't like not being able to see and the area they were in felt closed. He was suddenly very uncomfortable, even if the two in the area didn't seem hostile. Still, he wasn't lowering his guard.

The first man seemed to be the chatty one as he answered the blonde's questions. "Well, I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill and my tall dark and scary friend over there is Teal'c. You're in a prison cell on a planet we call PCO-756."

"Prison cell?" Was the first thing that came out of Cloud's mouth, but then the rest of the information registered. _"...Planet?"_

The man -he called himself, Jack?- spoke up again. "Your turn."

"Hmm?"

"What's your name?"

He was hesitant at first, but then again they didn't seem like a threat, if anything they were probably in the same situation he was. "Cloud."

The silence that followed suggested that Jack was trying not to laugh, but Cloud was used to it...kinda. Even he had admitted that Cloud was a strange name to a few people.

"Well," Jack said after a few more seconds passed, "I've heard stranger names. How'd you get stuck here?"

No, Cloud wasn't giving them any information about what happened, even though he himself wasn't quite sure. Regardless, he wasn't going to tell anyone about his home. Not when the lifestream had been so scared and desperate before. He might not have been the centra's biggest fan, but he wasn't about to put them in danger either.

"O'Neill."

The second man -Teal'c- alerted them to Footsteps approaching from somewhere down the hall.

Jack placed a hand on Cloud's shoulder, "Head's up, Sparky."

The door slid open and several guards stood in the doorway, blocking any escape. "Come." the leader of the group ordered.

As the three were herded out and forced to march with the guards Cloud noticed his sight was slowly returning. He could see blurred lights that flickered and fuzzy shapes. He was relieved that it wasn't permanent blindness. It would've put a big damper on his delivery service otherwise.

He didn't feel the comforting weight of his sword against his back, so he assumed it had been taken. But, where was it now? Why was he being held a prisoner? Were the other two innocent as well? They didn't seem like the evil type, then again even a Turk in training could hide his true intentions.

"Keep moving!" One of the guards shoved him from behind, making him stumble a bit. Even half-blind, Cloud turned to glare at the man. The man didn't shove him again.

They rounded several corners, Cloud had counted them since they had left the prison cell. Two rights, then a left. Twelve seconds steady pace before taking another right. Twenty more seconds and then a left.

He stopped as a door slid open, rising from the ground to vanish in the ceiling. They were forced to march again, but only a few steps before the guards used strange staffs to strike at the back of their knees, forcing them to fall.

"On your knees," a guard barked.

Cloud glared up at the guards, half-tempted to leap into action, but he still couldn't see that well and there was a chance the other two would get caught up in the scuffle. He didn't know what kind of weapons their jailers carried, but it was best to hide his strength until the right moment. Obviously, they didn't see him as a threat since his hands were not bound.

The lead guard spread his arms out in a graceful motion, "All hail the beloved one, Nut; Queen of the gods!"

The guards all bowed while a door to the right slid open and the woman emerged. She had on a strange tiara that resembled a majestic kind of bird with large feathered wings. Her dress was black and gold while she wore all manner of golden jewelery that jingled as she walked. Her eyes were painted with a light blue eye liner with black streaks reaching back to her temples. She wore a strange golden glove on her hand that curved into a bracelet on her wrist. Using the ungloved hand, she brushed some of her black hair over her shoulder.

She looked to the head guard and then glanced back at the three kneeling before her. "What have you brought me this time?"

Cloud was stunned by her voice. There was no way of describing how wrong it was for that kind of voice to come from a woman. It was deep, _too _deep and reminded him of how his old radio sounded just before it died. It was like she was talking in slow-motion and yet she wasn't.

"A scouting party picked up this one near the Chappa'ai on another planet. He carried a strange weapon and may have information about new naquadah mines. He may also make a good host."

"I will decide who makes a good host!" She snapped, glaring at the man who seemed to shrink under the woman's harsh gaze.

Cloud looked up at her, he didn't like how that sounded and catching a glance from the other two he could tell it wasn't a good thing.

"And what are these?" she asked the other guard about the two men next to Cloud.

"They were captured by a patrol. We discovered their strange vehicle near the Chappa'ai. They call themselves SG-1."

While the guard had been informing her about the second offering, her attention was still on the first prisoner. It probably wasn't the best idea, but Cloud never averted his gaze. Nut realized he was different. He clearly wasn't afraid of her (which did surprise her as she was feared by many), and he clearly didn't like her as his glare was would have been intimidating had she not been the one in charge. In all honesty, what her first prime had said was true. He would make a good host. He was definitely attractive, his features were strong and she had already seen the weapon that belonged to him. It would take a strong human to lift it.

However when the guard mentioned 'SG-1' her attention turned to the other two prisoners. "Only two? Where are the others?"

"They escaped through the portal, my lord. We could not stop them."

"Fool!" She thundered. "Send your best jaffa to the Chappa'ai and capture as many as you can. Do not let them escape again."

"So, you heard of us?" Jack asked with a cocky grin.

The guard from behind him was about to punish him for his words when Nut held up a hand. "Your insolence amuses me, but alas, you will find it is not as easy to outsmart me as you did my children."

"Look, Nutty, we've killed off a few Goa'ulds lately and we didn't really get to chat that much. If it'll make you feel better I'll write an apology note for beating up your kid and we'll call it even."

Cloud vision had almost fully recovered and he was a little surprised that the man seemed so calm and upbeat about their situation. The taller man that was between Cloud and Jack kept staring at the woman.

"She is the mother of Ra," he replied.

At this Jack raised his eye brows. "Well, that clears a few things."

Nut glared at the two, with cat-like eyes and much to Cloud's surprise, they glowed. "You have killed several of my children as of late, including My beloved son, Seth."

Again, Jack's cocky attitude never faltered. "Yeah~, he had it comin'."

At this, Nut leaned in closer to him and gave him a devious smirk. "Pity, had you been but a few decades younger you would have made an excellent host for my son."

Jack held his breath, just in case she tried anything like Hathor did. For once he had been glad of Carter's suspicious nature.

Nut turned her attention then to Teal'c. "And what have we here? The former first prime of my son's enemy, now shol'va to all of his kind? He who would foolishly challenge the almighty gods?"

"The Goa'uld are nothing more than parasites!" he retorted with such venom and hatred that even Cloud felt intimidated.

Nut glanced over at the guard standing behind Teal'c and nodded. Teal'c was then struck in the back of the head by the guard's staff. Nut looked down at Teal'c who, despite the obvious pain, returned a glare so hateful, Cloud would wager it'd make Sephiroth take a step back. Just what had he gotten himself into?

Nut looked back over to the guard who had spoken first. "Take these two back to the holding cell and bring this one to my chambers."

As Jack and Teal'c were led away, Cloud was shoved in the direction that Nut was heading. No. He wasn't going to play the helpless prisoner any longer. He turned on the guard behind him and began assaulting him with a few mean right hooks and uppercuts. He was suddenly sent flying back by a powerful force and slammed hard against the far wall. He was dazed and looked up at the woman. She held her gloved hand outstretched. The glove wasn't a glove at all, it was some kind of device. The red stone in the middle of her palm was glowing as she looked down at him. He must've hit his head pretty hard because he blacked out again.

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><p><em>O'Neill isn't that easy to write for, as I've found out the hard way. Especially when both Teal'c and Cloud tend to be more like the silent type. Cloud's still a little woozy from being kidnapped, but he'll get more scenes and lines in the next chapter. Please R&amp;R, I'm confident in my writing ability, but as this is my first time writing for SG-1 I any feedback would be greatly appreciated. :)<em>


	3. Chapter 3

_I'm trying to keep Nut as close to the actual mythology as I can. That will become clearer in a later chapter. There's also going to be some very interesting twists thrown in starting soon. Probably the chapter after the next one. Depending on the length. Speaking of, sorry this one's a bit short. They'll get longer, just not right away. Cloud's getting injured a lot lately, really it's not my intention, then again this is a new experience for him. *shrugs* oh well. Sorry I kept you waiting for a few weeks. Busy busy. xD_

_I really wanted to thank everyone who's been following along so far. I didn't expect such positive feedback. I'm glad all those years of watching SG-1 paid off for more than my simple enjoyment. ^^ Ah, You bring up some very good questions, Yua-hime. In my own personal opinion I think Aerith and Zack are still very much hanging around and keeping an eye on Cloud, though whether or not he can reach them or hear the other Centra off world is a good question. I did ponder over how I could make that work and I think you'll like what I've come up with. :)_

_Enjoy!_

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><p><span><em>Chapter Three<em>

When Cloud regained consciousness he was still seeing stars, but it didn't take him long to realize they were in fact decorated on the ceiling and not the result of being slammed into a wall. Slowly, he sat up and rubbed his head. Other than a bump and a slight headache he felt fine.

"You're different from a normal human."

That deep and creepy voice forced Cloud to look up at the woman standing at the foot of the bed. Wait...why was he in a bed? He quickly gave himself a look over only to relax when he discovered he was still clothed. The woman seemed to read his thoughts as she failed to hide an amused smirk.

"Now why would I sleep with my son's future host? I may be a Goa'uld, but even we have our limits."

"It's hard to take you seriously with that voice." Probably not the best way to start a conversation, but it was really getting on Cloud's nerves.

Nut seemed to roll her eyes before speaking again. "Does this sound more appealing to you?"

Her voice was still deep, but at least it was normal. She no longer sounded like a dying radio. He decided to focus on other things in the room before bringing his attention back to her. The bird headdress was gone, and her black and gold dress was replaced by another dress that was a deep royal blue pattered with silver stars. She still had that strange bracelet device on her hand. Cloud guessed in case he tried anything funny. It was then that he realized she was expecting an answer.

"It's an improvement," he replied. "What did you mean when you said I was a host?"

The smile never left Nut's face. "Not yet, you're not. But I would hope you'd willingly accept it first. You see, unlike the other gods I prefer to ask if the host is willing to blend, first. Sadly, my children also didn't take after me. This is partly why I have remained in the background for so long."

"Since you're so open, what exactly are you offering? I know what a host is, but it could mean a number of things, like a disease-"

"The Goa'uld are _NOT_ a disease!" her deeper voice returned with glowing golden eyes. Obviously, that was the wrong thing to say. Cloud wasn't intimidated though.

"I was using it as an example," he replied calmly.

Again, Nut was intrigued by this man before her. It was like he had never encountered one of her kind before and he had no fear what-so-ever. What sort of secrets was he holding? The way he carried himself, it was as if he were a Goa'uld already, but he lacked the arrogance and she also didn't sense the presence of another of her kind. She did sense something, but she couldn't tell what, just that it felt familiar.

"Where do you come from?" she asked.

Cloud was on to her, like with the other two, he didn't know who to trust, so he kept his information limited or in some cases completely useless. "Nibelhiem." A burned down ghost town was definitely useless.

"I'm not familiar with that world, what Goa'uld rules there?"

"Uh?"

"Which god or goddess rules your land?"

Cloud smirked. "There are several that different people worship."

Now it was Nut's turn to express a look of confusion, though it only lasted a second. "How can more than one Goa'uld rule a planet peacefully? We are a very...warlike race."

"I have no idea. I would quote a line from Loveless, but I don't exactly have the verses memorized."

_"Loveless, another useless bit of information,"_Cloud thought to himself.

Nut was not happy with the answers he was giving her. Perhaps it'd be easier if she sped things along. "Come with me."

She headed for the door, casting a glare over her shoulder indicating he was to follow. Cloud rolled his eyes and obliged. He didn't feel like he had much of a choice anyway.

As they walked down a hall she led him to a side room. "You said you wanted to know exactly what a Goa'uld was? Perhaps you should find out first hand."

The door slid open and she motioned for him to enter ahead of her. What he saw instantly put him on edge. Several well-muscled men were standing in the room, watching him and in the center was a flat table long enough for a person to lay on which was probably its exact purpose. A quick image flashed through his mind of a cold-metal table and restraints digging into his wrists and ankles.

He was pulled from his thoughts as two of the guards grabbed his arms. They were strong, but Cloud wagered he was still stronger. Nut entered behind him and motioned for the two guards to bring him to the table. She only smiled at Cloud's discomfort.

"Relax, there is no point in struggling. Once the blending is complete you will have more knowledge and power than you could ever dream of. You will live for thousands of years and travel the galaxy claim your place among the stars. You shall become a god."

Cloud glared daggers at her, "I don't want power, I can find knowledge on my own. I have no desire to outlive those around me and the way you describe it, you sound more like Jenova."

At this Nut's eyes widened. "Jenova?"

_...~*~S-SG-1~*~..._

Two hours later Jack and Teal'c were still held captive in the prison cell. They had long since formed an escape plan and were waiting for the right moment to set it in motion. They just had to find out one simple fact before they could make their move.

Teal'c was in a light meditation state while Jack just seemed bored, laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He was a bit disappointed that he couldn't count the tiles in the ceiling because there weren't any.

Footsteps approaching from a distance caught both of their attention and it didn't take long for the footsteps to grow louder. The door slid open and two guards trained their staff weapons on Jack and Teal'c while two other guards dragged the injured blonde through and left him in the middle of the floor before leaving, closing the door behind them.

Now came the important moment that would decide the fate of their plan. Teal'c kneeled down and glared at the younger man.

"Well?" asked Jack.

"I do not sense the presence of a Goa'uld," he replied. Jack instantly relaxed, though it was impossible to tell with his outside appearance.

"I never thought there could be another person as twisted as Hojo," Cloud said as he painfully sat up. He pinched the bridge of his nose to fight back an oncoming headache.

"Well, I wouldn't worry about it too much, cuz' we're about to get out of here."

Cloud looked over at Jack. Now that his vision had fully returned he could make out that he definitely seemed to carry the personality trait of overly optimistic. It was strange. Looking at him almost reminded Cloud a bit of his friend Cid. Casting glance over at Teal'c, he reminded Cloud a bit of Rude. They could almost be twins if not for the golden tattoo on his forehead and he lacked the trademark sunglasses.

Cloud looked back over at Jack. "And how are we suppose to get out?"

Suddenly a loud explosion echoed from somewhere in the distance, causing the blonde to look up as the room vibrated and lights flickered from the blast. Jack smirked as Teal'c took up a position concealed by the door. "And that's our cue."


	4. Chapter 4

_Well, I wasn't planning on updating this right away, but I felt bad uploading a short chapter without any action so, here's a boat load of it. xD I tried to write it out as a battle scene you would expect to see on the show. hopefully it shows? Of not just means more practice for me, which never hurts. I know I skipped what happened to Cloud in the room with Nut and the guards, but there's a reason for that, well aside from the fact that I like building suspense. Again, Yua-hime has more good points. That'll all become clear as the story unfolds. I want to explain a bit, but anything I'd say would give away what I have planned. _

_I have something special in mind for Jenova's involvement, TOW, so that'll explain itself over time as well and sadly, Isame, I honestly have never played FF7, so I don't know Cloud's special attacks other than what I've seen from Advent Children and the KH series. I do know plenty of the FF7 storyline and the characters, so everything in that regard should be accurate. _

_Also, not sure if anyone does or doesn't understand some Goa'uld/jaffa phrases, so starting with this chapter I'll be adding what the words mean at the bottom of the chapter._

_Enjoy!_

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><p><span><em>Chapter Four<em>

Jack went to stand on the other side of the wall, hidden from view of the door's entrance. Cloud instantly caught on to what they were planning as the door opened up a few seconds later, revieling three guards with their staffs raised. The one in the middle came in, the tip of his staff opened with a small charge of orange energy.

"Where are the other two?"

Cloud just gave an innocent shrug. The guard entered the room with the other two following. As they fully entered the room Teal'c and Jack made their move. Grabbing the staffs and delivering knock out punches to two of the guards while the other debated whether or not to fight back or run for help. In that moment of hesitation Cloud made his move and with a round-house kick he had learned from Yuffie the guard was catching Z's.

Jack looked down at the guard before smirking at the blonde, "Nice!"

He and Teal'c knelt down and grabbed three smaller devices. Jack tossed one of them to Cloud. He gave it a strange look, but didn't get a chance to ask what it was before the other two started to move. "C'mon, let's go!"

He followed right behind them as they made their way through the halls. "I believe the armory is this way, O'Neill," called Teal'c as he pointed with his stolen staff weapon.

Cloud secretly hoped his sword was there, but he doubted it. It probably meant more strange weapons, though what exactly the one in his hand did he had no clue. They came to another door and Teal'c made quick work of the access panel, punching in a simple code and the trio made their way inside before the door closed on them. The blonde swordsman was surprised to see weapons he recognized. Jack opened up one of the crates and pulled out a hand gun and a larger gun. He smirked at Cloud when he caught sight of the confused look.

"Nothin' like having a P-90 on hand."

Cloud just looked around, wondering what other kind of weapons were stashed away. He was never fond of guns and could never manage to aim one correctly.

"Teal'c, any sign of our GDO's?"

The other man looked through the crates until he opened one and raised an eye brow. "O'Neill, I have never seen a weapon such as this."

Jack walked over to peek inside only to give a low, impressed whistle, "That's a pretty big meat cleaver."

That got Cloud's attention. _Could it be?_

He walked over and couldn't help but smile a little at their discovery. "First Tsurugi."

"First what?" asked Jack.

"My sword," Cloud replied as he freed the weapon from its prison and held it easily as if he were holding a light-weight baseball bat. Jack was impressed, as was Teal'c though he hid it by continuing the search for the item Jack had mentioned earlier.

After some more searching, two radios, another hand gun and two army vests later the Jack finally found what they had been searching for. Cloud had found the sheath for his sword and strapped it to his back, feeling better with the familiar weight pressed against him.

Teal'c opened the door and looked around first before nodding the all clear. Jack followed with Cloud bringing up the rear.

"Teal'c, you know where the ring room is?"

"I believe it is this way," he replied.

They turned down a corner and Jack smiled when the ring platform on the floor came in sight. A commotion came from the hall they had just passed and before the trio had time to turn Cloud was sent forward from a blow fired from the guard's staff. Teal'c was at his side in an instant and caught him, "Are you injured?"

"No, my sword took the hit," he replied as he unstrapped the sword from his back only to glare at the damage. A black impact mark was left of the once shining steel.

More guards came from the other end of the hall and the trio found themselves surrounded. Teal'c raised his staff while Jack pulled out one hand gun while holding the other smaller weapon in the other hand. He squeezed on the handle and the weapon extended a bit with a strange sound as it did so. "Ever use one of these?" he asked Cloud who shook his head.

Jack showed him how and then began firing at the enemies. Using his sword as an effective shield he fired the smaller weapon. It took a bit to get his aim right, but he soon got the hang of it. It didn't take long for him to learn that one shot would stun a victim and two would kill. Cloud wasn't fond of killing and preferred to just stun, but after what he had witnessed and almost fell victim to, he wasn't going to lose much sleep over the loss of these lives.

_"Colonel O'Neill, this is Hammond, what's your situation, over?" _

A voice crackled over the radio clipped to Jack's vest and with a nod from Teal'c, Jack lowered his hand gun to answer while Teal'c provided extra cover.

"General! We're under heavy fire and are cut off from the rings!"

"Colonel!" Cloud shouted causing Jack to look behind him. More jaffa were coming in from the blonde's direction and they were advancing. The metallic echoes from the blasts striking Cloud's sword were becoming more frequent. The swordsman prayed his weapon would be able to withstand this kind of punishment.

_"SG units 1,2 and 4 are already en-route and will be arriving shortly," _replied the voice from the radio.

"Well they better make it quick, Sir! We're about to get our a-"

O'Neill was cut off as a blast from a Zat gun struck him in the shoulder, stunning him. Teal'c instantly got between him and oncoming fire.

Seeing Jack go down sent Cloud's mind back to the past. Instead of Jack laying there, he saw Zack and it enraged him. Back then he couldn't do anything, now it was a completely different story.

"Teal'c, I'll provide cover, you get him out of here!"

Teal'c looked back at the blonde, but the determined look in the young warrior's eyes was enough to convince him to agree. With a nod, both knew what needed to be done.

Using his sword to cover him from behind Cloud focused his Zat weapon on firing at the advancing group of jaffa coming from beyond the ring room which was sitting in the very center of the hallway while Teal'c made his way with Jack's arm slung over his shoulder and firing on the group stationed behind Cloud. Once centered in the rings Teal'c took his chance to press in the sequence to activate the rings.

He waited for a moment to allow Cloud to join him, but the warrior had yet to find an opening. Cloud glanced at Teal'c before opening another round of fire, "Go!" he shouted.

Teal'c didn't want to, but he pressed the last button and the platform opened up as rings lowered down around the two members of SG-1 and they vanished in a ray of light as the rings dropped to the floor.

Cloud rose then and drew his sword from the ground which had taken a lot of damage from the blasts. Putting the Zat away he took the sword in both hands and charged the remaining jaffa. The sword still deflected the blasts and he came at them like a juggernaut. Their silver armor was no match for the power of the Fusion Sword as it hummed its death song. Cloud separated the sword into two blades to increase add to the deadly dance. The jaffa fell quickly to the whirling blades.

When one side of the hall was clear he turned to face the other end which had doubled in number of enemies. Taking his swords he prepared himself and charged. The jaffa had seen the others fall and were determined not to join them. They all opened fire at once. Cloud dodged most fo them, but some found their mark. A staff weapon hit him in the leg just below the knee and he fell onto his good one, once again forced to use his sword as a shield as he combined the two back into one.

Taking out the Zat gun, he readied to fire when the blue blast of an enemy Zat found its mark and struck him in the upper arm. He went down hard, but he was still conscious as the jaffa advanced.

_...~*~S-SG-1~*~..._

There were far less guards on the outside of the landed ship than there were within as Teal'c found out upon exiting the first floor and made his way outside.

He heard someone coming and raised his Zat only to point it three inches from the surprised face of Daniel Jackson.

"Hey Teal'c," He greeted, hoping his friend wouldn't fire on instinct, but relaxed as the jaffa lowered his weapon.

Carter and SG-2 came up right behind him. The members of SG-2 relieved Teal'c of the injured Colonel and he headed back the way he came.

"Where are you going?" ask Daniel as he and Carter followed.

"I do not intend to leave him behind," he replied as he punched in the sequence to activate the rings again.

Carter and Daniel followed.

_...~*~S-SG-1~*~..._

The jaffa approached the man carefully, in case he still posed a threat. When they saw he was still awake the lead jaffa smirked evilly and the end of his staff opened.

Cloud glared up at him in defiance, unable to move from the last hit of the stun weapon.

The jaffa nodded his head upwards as a signal to the others.

"Kek."

The rings activated then, throwing several of the jaffa against the wall as they had been standing on the rings beforehand. When the light dimmed and the rings receded three members of SG-1 began firing on the remaining jaffa and made short work of them.

When the enemy had been brought down they followed Teal'c who was kneeling over the man who had lost consciousness during the fight.

Daniel looked at the injury to the man's leg and winced. "Think he's gonna be alright?"

"If we can get him back to the SGC he should be," replied Carter as she quickly applied gauze from the First Aid kit to the wound.

Between her and Daniel they supported the injured blonde between them as Teal'c followed behind carrying the sword. The jaffa wouldn't admit it, but it was indeed a heavy weapon and took him some extra effort to carry it with one hand. Not much more, but enough that it would take at least three humans to lift it.

_...~*~S-SG-1~*~..._

With SG-2 covering their six, the members of SG-1 hurried down the rocky trail with trees thick on either side. They gate was within sight when the sound of an engine was heard from above.

"Take cover!" shouted a member from Sg-2 as the group hit the deck. A Glider flew overhead and fired down at the fleeing group. Luckily the pilot was a poor shot and missed them, only kicking up dirt. The group quickly got to their feet and made a run for the gate while SG-4 provided cover fire.

More jaffa emerged from the tree line firing on the retreating party. "Dial the gate!" Carter shouted as Daniel hurried over to the DHD and started punching in the address for home.

A member of SG-2 took a hit to the back from a staff blast, but was helped by other members of his team. The gate opened, releasing an explosion of water before it stabilized and Daniel punched in his code.

"Alright, let's go!"

_...~*~S-SG-1~*~..._

On the other side of the gate, General Hammond was standing in the control room while Walter glanced at the screen. "It's SG-1's signal sir."

"Open the Iris," he ordered and the technician obeyed, placing his hand on the hand scanner. The shield that was covering the shimmering surface of the wormhole opened.

"SG-1, you're clear to come through." Hammond voiced through the microphone on the control panel.

A few moments later the members of the three SG teams emerged from the wormhole and Hammond noticed injuries. "Get a medical team down there." He ordered as the personal hurried to obey.

Dr. Frasier headed the medical group that made their way into the Gate room and looked over the injured. Three injured out of thirteen wasn't bad considering, and she was thankful that none of the injuries were life threatening. she checked over Jack first and he was on a stretcher and headed to the infirmary along with the member from SG-2 who had been struck in the back with a minor staff blast. It was the third injured man that concerned her.

As Hammond made his way through the gathered group he peered down at the man Frasier was checking over. She didn't seem concerned by the injury to his leg, but he noted the worried look as she examined the back of his neck.

The general got closer and Frasier noticed him then. "Sir, look at this." She showed him the wound and it got the general's full attention along with his concern.

On the back of Cloud's neck were bite marks.

* * *

><p><em>Kek = Death. <em>


	5. Chapter 5

_I wanted to thank everyone for being patient with the slow updates. These past few weeks have been pretty stressful and I was feeling a little overwhelmed. But coming back and seeing the support this story is getting, all I can say is, "Wow!" you guys are that being said, I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but there's only so many times you can rewrite a chapter. I may come back and tweak it a bit later.  
><em>

_Chapter Five_

It was faint, but Cloud could just make out the smell of flowers. The kind that grew in the church of Sector 5 in the ruins of Midgar. A place that (despite the crumbling eyesore around it) remained a safe haven where Cloud could go to relax and clear his head. Whether it was because of fond memories that kept him coming back or the healing spring that cured him of GeoStigma no one knew. Perhaps it was a combination along with the constant reminder that his friends were always watching over him. Aerith with her flowers and guiding light and Zack, with his Buster Sword, pep talks and certain habits that Cloud now shared.

Along with the smell of flowers he thought he heard the muffled voice of his friend, but it was hard to tell. It was like trying to listen through a thick wall. It sounded like Zack, but he couldn't make out what he was trying to tell him. Maybe if he opened his eyes it would be easier.

Slowly he did, but instead of the familiar church or flower bed he saw the inside of a small room. A room covered with medical equipment. He was in a hospital? But, it didn't feel like one...in fact it almost felt like...like the labs under Shinra Mansion!?

Cloud clenched his fists and reached to tear the IV drip out of his arm when he realized something that terrified him. He was in restraints?! His air was coming in short breaths now as he tried very hard not to panic. He couldn't let his mind wander. He had to stay focused and keep his mind away from anything to do with Hojo. The mad man might have been dead, but the nightmares of what Cloud had suffered still terrorized him. He figured out long ago that those memories would forever haunt him, but this was too much. He didn't remember anything. How did he get here? Where _was _here?!

Dr. Fraiser came in to check on him as she had done for the past three hours. He had been sleeping peacefully up until now. As she walked in she almost let out a cry of surprise, startled by the glare of pure hatred in his eyes. They seemed like that of a cornered animal ready to defend itself. Despite being intimidated she remained professional.

"Hey," she said cheerfully yet, calmly, "How're you feeling?"

"Like a prisoner," came his cold reply. "What's going on?"

Dr. Fraiser hadn't been fully debriefed yet about the mission details so she wasn't sure herself. "You came back with SG-1 through the Stargate, you were injured, but it's not serious." She approached the monitors to check his vitals without trying to get too close, there was something about his gaze that unnerved her, and looking up she realized why. It definitely had to be brought to the General's attention, but she tried to stay friendly in front of him. "Do you remember what happened?"

Cloud laid his head back down, trying to remember when it slowly started coming back. "I was captured and imprisoned with two others. We escaped and Jack was injured. I covered them while they got away. I got hit, I don't know what happened after that."

She noticed the change in his tone as it grew quieter and looked at his hand to notice it was shaking ever-so-slightly. Paying closer attention she could tell he was trying to control his breathing, with her experience she knew what was happening and she felt bad that he had to be held down, but they were orders from the General himself and for the safety of herself and her staff, she had to keep them on, as much as she didn't want to.

"Feel like telling me your name?"

When he didn't answer she glanced at the monitor once more before leaving. She was about to walk out the door when,

"Cloud."

She stopped and turned to look at him, "What?"

"My name,...it's Cloud."

She gave him a small smile, "Well, you try to get some rest, Cloud and I'll come by and check on you a little later, okay?"

With that she left the room, leaving him to focus on controlling his breathing. These restraints were strong and he was still weakened from the fight.

_...~*~S-SG-1~*~..._

In the briefing room General Hammond, Dr. Frasier and the members of SG-1 were watching the servalance footage of their guest. Hammond was the first to start.

"Are we sure we're not looking at a Goa'uld?"

"Yes, sir," Frasier answered, "All his test results come back negative."

"I did not sense the presence of one within him," added Teal'c who sat next to Daniel.

The archeologist folded his hand on the table and voiced his thoughts, "It wouldn't make sense anyway. I mean if the Goa'uld were trying to get a spy into one of us, wouldn't they choose...one of us? Or if not, why would he continue to fight them and get injured when he was all alone?"

"Perhaps he was an enemy of the Gou'ald who imprisoned O'Neill and myself?" Teal'c suggested.

"Now see, that doesn't make sense. I mean the guy didn't seem _gould-ish_..." Jack then turned to Teal'c, "did he?"

"I have not seen a Goa'uld exhibit such behavior before," the jaffa replied.

Hammond looked back at the tape then back at them, "So what are we dealing with, exactly?"

"Perhaps he's not Goa'uld, but not human either?" asked Carter.

"No, his DNA is definitely human, but it seems to have been tampered with, Frasier confirmed.

"What makes you say that, doctor?" asked the General.

"Well sir, there are several anomalies in both his DNA and blood stream that are beyond anything I've ever seen and his physical behaviors suggest some level of post traumatic stress disorder, I'm not sure how severe, but he definitely seemed to be fearful when he realized he was in restraints."

"And why is he in restraints?" asked Jack, obviously bothered by this news.

"Until we know what he is I'm not taking any chances. It's basic proceger Colonel."

"Basic proce- General, that man helped bust me and Teal'c outta there and possibly saved our lives and you wanna treat him like a prisoner?"

"I am in agreement with Colonel O'Neill," Teal'c added, who was equally offended. "He lay down cover fire while we made our escape and sustained his injuries after we had left."

The General swiveled in his chair, "I'm sorry, but until we know for sure, I'm not authorising his release. He will be under twenty-four hour guard and will remain in restraints until all possible threats are diminished. I'm not risking the security of this facility based on your words alone, dismissed."

With that he got up and walked back into his office. Jack had seen PTSD affect people first hand it while it was always different for each person it affected, it was never pretty. The colonel followed after the general and knocked on his office door.

Hammond looked up only to let out a frustrated sigh. "Jack, I know how you feel, but we still don't know what he's capable of,"

"He's capable of risking his neck to save someone he doesn't know," Jack pointed out.

The general was trying to be patient, "I realize his actions are the reason you and Teal'c are alive, but that still doesn't rule out the possibility that he could be a spy."

"General?" came Dr. Frasier's voice from the doorway.

"Come in doctor," he replied as she approached the desk and handed him a file.

"Sir, There is no indication that he's a Goa'uld, but there may be a reason that explains the bite marks,"

"Bite marks?" asked Jack. He looked over at Hammond who nodded to Frasier for her to explain.

"He had four bite marks on the back of his neck and they match up with that of a Goa'uld, but once the parasite enters the host the bite marks are gone with little more than a scar from the point of entry."

"So, what does this mean, Doctor?" asked the General.

"It means that a Goa'uld might have tried to take him over, but something caused it to stop."

"Maybe that's when he started kickin' ass," Jack added.

"You have something to add?" asked Hammond.

"As a matter of fact I do sir, Just before me an' Teal'c broke out we thought about waiting for him to come back when Nutty wanted to see him alone, he looked pretty beat up and mentioned something about Nut bein' as twisted as some other guy, Mojo or something. The point is, General. I don't think he risked his neck just to end up a prisoner on another planet. If we want him to trust us, we should start showing that we can be trusted."

Hammond seemed to understand a little better this time, and remembering how Teal'c had proved his loyalties he was considering it. Until Frasier stepped in,

"Ah, sir, there was something I thought you should know,"

"Yes?"

"When I walked in to find him awake his eyes had a faint glow to them."

"I thought you said he wasn't a Goa'uld," Jack replied.

"He's not, but I don't know how else to explain it sir."

"Well why don't I just go ask 'im," Jack offered, the tone in his voice suggesting he was going to whether given permission or not.

Hammond nodded. "You do that. See what you can find out. Dismissed."

_...~*~S-SG-1~*~..._

Cloud had given up trying to break free of his restraints. He couldn't understand why he was feeling so weak unless it had something to do with whatever was in that IV drip. He was feeling sick, but he had no way of knowing if it was caused by the fluid or if his own nerves were getting to him.

The door opened and his eyes instantly focused on the three people who entered. One was the doctor who had checked on him earlier, the second was a man with glasses and a notebook and the third (to his slight relief) was Jack.

"Hey, Sparky, how are ya holdin' up?"

"I've been better," he replied flatly.

Jack shoved his hands into his pockets and tried to appear casual by rocking slightly on his heels, hoping to ease the growing tension in the room.

Cloud pulled against his restraints, "Is this how you normally treat new allies?"

"Hey, those weren't my idea, in fact I was pissed when I found out. But the General isn't sure if you can be trusted."

When the blonde shot them a glare Daniel decided to step in, "What Jack is trying to say is, there are some things about you that have us a bit concerned."

"Like what?"

"Your eyes are glowing for one," answered Jack.

Cloud closed his eyes and sighed, "That's a side effect of mako."

"Mako? What is that?" asked the doctor.

"It's a substance that's injected into members of SOLDIER. It increases their abilities and makes them stronger. It's also rumored to extend a person's life, but no SOLDIER has ever lived long enough to prove that theory."

"So, that makes you military?" asked Daniel.

"No," Cloud's reply was firm, but there was the hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "I was once a cadet, but failed the exam twice. I joined the normal military after that, but even then I wasn't very good."

"I thought you just said you weren't in the military?" corrected Frasier.

"Being an infantryman basically means you're nothing more than cannon fodder, I only survived because I was lucky enough to have a friend in SOLDIER."

"Who's this Mojo guy?"

Jack's sudden question caught the other three off guard.

"What?" Cloud blinked in confusion.

"Back in the prison cell, you said something about Nut being as twisted as some guy named Mojo."

"Hojo."

Cloud closed his eyes and once again pulled against his restraints with clenched fists. Dr. Frasier noticed his heart rate was starting to increase.

"Colonel." Jack looked over at her then followed her gaze towards the monitors.

"Oh for cryin' out loud," He walked over to the bed and started undoing the restraints.

"Jack," Daniel started.

"Isn't it obvious that these might be considered a form of torture?" Within a few short moments the restraints had been removed and Jack was slowly trying to sit the blonde up.

"There, better?"

Cloud slowly nodded and the three noticed his heart rate returning to normal.

"Just promise you won't go crazy and tear up the room and you won't be restrained, sound good?"

Cloud couldn't help smirking at Jack's cocky, optimistic nature. "Deal."


	6. Chapter 6

_Yes, Two new chapters back to back. I felt you guys deserve it for the ling wait. It may be a while yet before I can get my internet back and upload more, but I knew you guys really wanted to know what happened a few chapters back. This chapter also concludes what I would consider as the Pilot Episode. Episode two will be coming soon. It's already half-way written. _

_Enjoy!_

* * *

><p><em>Chapter Six<em>

General Hammond sat at the head of the table in the debriefing room as he waited with Major Carter and Teal'c, along with the leader of SG-2 and an officer from the Pentagon.

The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs alerted the assembled group to the arrival of the rest of the team. Jack, Daniel, Dr. Frasier and their guest arrived with two guards escorting them.

"How are you feeling, son?" asked the General when he noticed Cloud looking around the room. The blonde's gaze settled on him for a moment before he answered, "Fine."

The general motioned towards the chair on the other end of the table, "Please, have a seat."

Cloud glanced over at Jack who nodded before he sat down with the rest of them.

The General began the meeting. "You already know Most of the members of SG-1, this is Major Samantha Carter," She nodded in greeting and he returned the gesture, "Major Griff, leader of SG-2," The general motioned towards the leader of the second team, "and Major Davis of the Pentagon."

"No offense, sir, but is there a reason I was brought up here? I don't appreciate being treated like a criminal when I've done nothing wrong."

The general could see past the man's calm exterior and sensed the anger.

"I'm sorry about the restraints, but until we know more about you, we have to aid on the side of caution. I hope you understand."

"You could have just asked," he replied.

"Alright, why don't we started with your name?"

"Cloud Strife."

Major Davis tilted his head, "Is that some sort of code name?"

"No, it's the name I was born with."

"Can you tell us how you were captured by the Goa'uld?"

Cloud pondered over this for a moment. He still wasn't sure where he was exactly. He wasn't back home and he wasn't in that woman's base, so he wasn't willing to give away too much. "I was exploring the ruins of what was left of an ancient city when I stumbled on a large ring,"

He thought back to that night when the Centra all but begged him to bury it, "the middle section of the ring was spinning and some of the markings were glowing. There was a rush of water and it was like nothing I've ever seen before."

"We call it a Stargate," Jack interrupted.

"Stargate?"

Jack glanced over at the General who nodded. "Show him."

An airman standing nearest to the wall turned and pushed the button mounted next to him. The wall to the side began to rise revealing a window. Cloud stood up and approached the window and gazed downward. Standing on a lower floor was the same device he had seen in the Forgotten City.

"What is that?" he couldn't help but ask.

"It's a device that allows us to travel to different worlds," Carter answered.

"So, this isn't Gaia?"

"Gaia, is that the name of your world?" asked Daniel who flipped open his notebook and began writing. Cloud nodded.

A few minutes went by before he sat back down. It was then that Jack's curiosity got the better of him, "So, what happened when Nut took you away?"

"She asked if I wanted to be a host," he replied. "She tried to convince me it was a gift and that I should be grateful and accept the honor of becoming a god. She lost my interest after that until she tried telling me I'd become her son." Cloud broke off, trying to stifle the sudden case of laughter. Realization suddenly hit him and he found the whole thing ironic.

"That would explain the bite marks," Frasier spoke up hesitantly.

"What happened after that?" asked Jack.

Cloud remembered the whole incident clearly...

_. . ._

As Cloud struggled against the two men that held him, Nut paced around the table, coming to a stop on the other side. With a bit of effort, Cloud managed to flip one of the guards and slammed his fist into the other one's jaw. Three more guards came at him and he fought against them. Nut watched him for a short while, admiring his strength and determination, but she soon became impatient. Using her hand device, she sent a weak blast of energy that struck him in the chest, throwing him back and knocking the wind out of him. The only two guards that were left conscious grabbed him by the arms and dragged him over to the table.

Cloud still continued to struggle as Nut approached him and stroked the side of his jaw affectionately. With a look of disgust Cloud pulled away from her causing her vixen-like grin to vanish, only to be replaced by a look of scorn.

"Do not fret, soon you shall bow before your mother and make her proud. You shall head out into the galaxy and create your own domain. And I know just the perfect place to start, or should I say, you do? Your world shall be the first to fall. Those who resist shall die by your hands and that of your armies and the rest shall become your slaves. You shall answer to no one, but your beloved mother, Queen of the Stars and ruler of the skies!"

"I'm starting to miss Sephiroth," Cloud managed to choke before she raised her open hand a few inches in front of him and the red stone began to glow sending a stream of energy into his forehead.

He tried to fight it, tried to resist, but it was painful and he felt his limbs go completely numb. He couldn't move. The guards felt his muscles relax and Nut only stopped when the glare in his eyes shifted to one of exhaustion. She returned to her place on the other side of the table as the guards lifted him off the ground and laid him on his stomach.

Another jaffa came in and what Cloud saw next made him glad he couldn't move or he would have puked. Nut reached into the X-shaped hole in the man's stomach and pulled out some sort of snake creature. It was black-ish green with fins on its head and glowing eyes.

"This," Nut told Cloud as she held the creature up for him to see, "is my son,"

A guard from behind cut away part of the top of Cloud's shirt as she laid the creature on his back, "And your new master."

Cloud tried to move, he tried to fight whatever that creature was and tried to get that thing away from him, but all he could manage to do was make his fingers twitch. The strange snake slithered closer towards his neck and raised its head back.

The creature struck then and Cloud couldn't help but let out a cry of pain. He felt the needle-like teeth, but he also felt something else. A pain that surged through him and reminded him of when he was overcome by the effects of GeoStigma. The Jenova cells in his system were going crazy, put into a panic and forced Cloud into a fight or flight mode.

The snake creature recoiled and writhed in pain. Nut was completely stunned by what was unfolding, but before she could issue an order Cloud's glowing blue eyes snapped open and he attacked. One of the guards had a knife on him which he withdrew in order to defend his queen. He was no match for the swordsman who punched him hard in the throat, took his knife and stabbed him in the side. Next he took out the other two guards that came at him from behind.

Nut raised her hand to stop him, "Ungrateful brat! How dare you strike out at your mother!"

The knife came flying through the air and stabbed her right in the throat. Cloud glared at her as she fell. "I already have a mother, and a monster such as you could never take her place."

Nut gave one last gurgle before falling back and she grew still. Cloud rubbed the back of his neck and looked around to where the snake creature had gone, but he didn't see it. Cloud went to bend over and retrieve the knife when he was struck from behind by a strange blue beam and he was overcome with pain.

_. . ._

"After that I was dragged back into the prison cell," Cloud finished.

The rest of the people in the room were a bit stunned, it was Teal'c who recovered first. "I have never known of a person who has been able to repel a Goa'uld before."

"What about failed blending? It happens to the Tok'ra sometimes," asked Daniel.

"That's only after it infests the host, and that would result in the death of both the host and the symbiote." Carter replied.

"So, your saying our buddy Cloud has some immunity against the snakes? asked Jack.

"It's possible sir," replied Carter.

"Doctor Frasier, you said there was something in his blood you've never seen before, could that be the reason why?" asked the General.

"It may be, I'd have to run a few tests to be sure-"

"No."

The group looked over at the blonde who glared at them. "I'm no one's lab rat."

"Don't you want to rid the galaxy of the Goa'uld? You may have the key to stop them from taking any more innocent people as hosts."

Cloud glared daggers at Daniel. "All I want is to go home. I never asked for any of this and I want no part in it. Once I return to Gaia, I'm going to either destroy the ring or make sure it can never be opened again."

"I'm afraid we can't do that," replied the General.

Cloud focused his sharp gaze on the General and the room's temperature seemed to drop by a few degrees. "Are you saying that if I don't help you, you won't let me leave?"

"No, We wouldn't keep you from returning home, but we have not yet come across a world that's like what you describe. Unless you know the address?"

"Address?"

"The seven symbols needed to form a connection from our world to yours," Carter added.

"I don't know it," the blonde replied, looking down.

"Then it would seem you are stuck here," said Teal'c.

"How about a trade?"

The group looked over at Jack who had been rested his chin in his hand for most of the conversation.

"Cloud helps us out fighting the Goa'ulds and we try to find his home world."

"Fight?" asked the General. "We might benefit more from getting a sample of his blood and finding a way to prevent the parasites from taking over innocent humans."

"Ohh I don't know General, he's got some skills. Before I was knocked out cold he was holding his own pretty well," Jack replied with a smirk.

Carter nodded slowly, "There were a lot of dead jaffa in the hall when we went back for him."

"Whose to say he won't turn his weapon on us?" asked Davis.

Cloud was about to speak when Jack stepped in, "General, there's not a single doubt in my mind that he's trust-worthy. He helped us out back there and Teal'c and I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for him."

"I concur," replied Teal'c.

Hammond gave it a few minutes of thought before finally nodding. "Alright, We'll keep a look out for any world that looks like his home planet in return for his aid in helping us fight the Goa'uld, if he agrees." He looked over at Cloud. "What do you say, son? Do we have a deal?"

Cloud was still surprised that Jack and Teal'c had stuck up for him, then again this was definitely a strange bunch. It kind of reminded him a bit of home. so far they hadn't done anything to give him reason to resist. The general was a bit strict, but in any branch of military that was always guaranteed. It may take a while for him to trust everyone in the room, but for now he decided to trust Jack and Teal'c.

"Alright."

_...~*~S-SG-1~*~..._

Back on PCO-756 the sarcophagus that laid in the middle of a room deep within Nut's fortress began to slide open. A hand wielding a Goa'uld hand device emerged from within and gripped the edge as Nut slowly sat up. Her eyes opened and glowed with a fearsome light.

"He shall pay for his insolence!"


	7. Chapter 7

_And here my wonderful readers is Episode 2. I'm not sure how long the episode wil be, but I hope you enjoy it. Thank you all for your wonderful comments so far. It really helps a lot. :)_

_I may come back and tweak this a bit, but I'm not sure yet. Inspiration for this episode came from "The 5th Race" and "Window of opportunity"_

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><p><em>Chapter Seven<em>

_Episode 2: Overcast Conflict_

A few days had passed since Dr. Frasier had given Cloud a full physical. To his pleasant surprise it wasn't as unnerving as he thought it'd be, just a bit uncomfortable. There was the normal poking and probing, but nothing extreme. In truth, she was the first doctor he ever liked. She always told him exactly what she was about to do and was very gentle while going about her tasks. He barely felt the needle when she went to draw blood.

When he had been given the all clear and his test results came back clean he was shown to a guest room. It was sickeningly plain. Carter, who had shown him to his room asked what sort of things he was interested in and maybe she could order some pictures or decorations. The first thing that came to his mind was motorcycles. Carter instantly brightened up and mentioned that she also had an interest in motor bikes. She said she'd see what she could do and then left him to himself. Cloud thought back to Fenrir. He had left his bike back in the Forgotten City and hoped it was still where he had left it. The last thing he wanted to find out was that his bike had been stolen or totaled again.

The next day, Cloud spent most of the morning in the office of Daniel Jackson, though, it didn't really resemble an office, more like a room full of cluttered books, scrolls and dusty artifacts. Daniel had spent the better half of the morning asking him every question he could think of about his world and Cloud tried to answer them to the best of his abilities. By lunchtime Cloud was fairly confident that he had told the archeologist enough about Gaia to write a novel. After a while the combination of dust and questions had started to get to him and Daniel noticed the blonde's condition only when he turned around and saw him with his head laying face down on the table.

Now Cloud was sitting in the mess hall poking his fork at a questionable slice of pie when Jack and Teal'c decided to join him.

"So," Jack began, "How are we settling in?"

"Is this place always so boring?" It wasn't that Cloud didn't enjoy a break from fighting monsters and saving the planet, but at least back in his world he had deliveries to keep himself busy. Now he was just sitting around doing nothing. He couldn't even practice with his sword since it had been locked in the armory after being tested and looked at by the engineers who practically drooled over its design.

"We're just goin' through a slow spell. Normally we're savin' the world every other weekend, right Teal'c?"

"Indeed," replied the jaffa as he helped himself to the grapes that were on his tray. Besides those were two sandwiches, a bagel, a pile of mashed potatoes, another pile of mixed carrots and peas and a pork chop.

Cloud looked at the mountain of food with a raised eyebrow until Jack noticed. "Light snack," he informed him. Cloud could have sworn he saw the jaffa roll his eyes at the statement.

Another night passed and still nothing was different. In fact, Cloud had a peaceful night sleep. It was strange, he wasn't used to getting such a good rest.

The next day Cloud found himself once again at the mercy of Daniel Jackson's questions. He was starting to remind the swordsman of his friend Reeve. So caught up in his work and the archeologist loved every minute of it. Cloud was starting to wonder if Daniel slept in this room too. He tried to keep himself occupied by flipping through the pages of some random book when something caught his eye.

"What's this about Midgar?"

"Huh?" Daniel stopped mid-sentence as Cloud's question caught him off guard. "Midgar? Oh, that's what the people on an Asguard protected planet called Earth."

"Oh," replied Cloud.

Daniel's eyes shifted from the chalk board back to the blonde, "Why do you ask?"

"Because there was a city in my world called Midgar, but it was destroyed. Now there's nothing more than ruins and crumbling buildings."

"Really?" asked Daniel, intrigued. "Are they accessible to anyone?"

Cloud shrugged, "It's pretty dangerous if you don't know your way around, but aside from the random monsters and unstable debris, it should be safe enough. People mainly avoid it because it's full of bad memories."

"Bad memories, like what?"

"Countless people died when it was destroyed."

Daniel sensed the mood beginning to darken when he decided to change the subject. "Oh, um...sorry. anyway, from what you were saying yesterday about these Centra, and how they can speak to certain people? How exactly do they do that? Is there some alter you have to go to?"

Cloud huffed as he shook his head, "There's no way to contact the Centra. They contact you, unless you're part ancient."

This caught Daniel's attention. "Are you?"

"What?"

Daniel turned to fully face him, "Are you part ancient? You said in the briefing room the other day after the full test results came back that the ancients asked you to bury the Stargate, but if only an ancient can make contact with them then,"

"No," Cloud replied firmly. "The Centra also have a habit of contacting people who have ties to certain events in Gaia's history. I just happen to be one of the unlucky ones the Centra call upon whenever there's trouble."

"You don't sound very happy about it," Daniel noticed.

"The last time I tried to help them I woke up in a prison cell, blinded and was almost turned into a host."

Daniel closed his book, "Yeeo-kay, good point. I guess what my real question is, how do they contact you?"

"Most of the time it was through my dreams."

Daniel nodded, "Have you had any dreams from the Centra lately?"

It was that question that had gotten Cloud thinking. For the next three nights he had waited to hear anything from the ancients, but nothing. There was one nightmare about being back in Hojo's lab that Cloud could've done without, but other than that there was nothing. Even when Carter arrived with a few boxes of posters, pictures and other odds and ends that had to deal with the interests that he had mentioned to her and helped to decorate his room with, still nothing.

On the fourth night he woke up with his arm extended over to the other side of the bed as if reaching for someone. With a heavy feeling he realized that he was starting to miss Tifa and the kids. He remembered the last time he saw her. She had come into his room when he had woken them up from his reactions to that dream of the deafening Centra. He regretted snapping at her the way he did. He didn't even apologize or say anything before leaving - in the middle of the night no less. He hoped she wasn't blaming herself. She was already more than likely mad at him.

Next he thought of the kids. Marlene was the more forgiving one, but after what had happened with GeoStigma, Cloud hoped Denzel wasn't thinking the swordsman had abandoned them again. He almost lost the boy's trust once when he left, but he had tried to make up for it ever since. Curing him of his sickness certainly helped. His next thoughts were on his delivery business. Orders were more than likely piling up and Tifa was probably taking care of most of it until he got back,..._if_ he got back.

Cloud turned over onto his other side, trying to avoid those kinds of thoughts. It was times like this that he would appreciate visits from his two friends who would often invade his dreams from the lifestream. But like the Centra, both Aerith and Zack were nowhere to be found. Why was that? Weren't the Centra angry that he had failed? Wasn't Aerith going to tease or make fun of him? Where was Zack's moral support and good humor? Something was wrong and he had to find out what.

_...~*~S-SG-1~*~..._

The next day Cloud was on his way once again to visit Dr. Jackson in his study. It seemed he had come up with more questions to ask the swordsman about his world after he had mentioned the ancients when an alarm sounded. Cloud had been given a base access card which allowed him access to certain rooms and floors. Thankfully, the Gateroom and main control room were some of them.

He made his way to the control room to see the General and Jack standing at the controls. He just made it to the top of the stairs when the General issued the command to "Open the iris."

The metal shield retracted as the general leaned closer to the microphone. "SG-6 you're clear to come through!"

Another minute or two passed before the team returned. One of the members was injured in the leg and was being supported by another member of his team. As the fourth person emerged from the gate the portal shut down. Hammond ordered a medical team to the gateroom to assist the man who had been injured.

"Hey Sparky, wha'cha doin'?" asked Jack who had turned around.

The blonde realized he didn't have a real good reason to be there so he shrugged, "Just curious."

The colonel and general exchanged glances before Hammond turned and headed back upstairs to his office while Jack approached Cloud. He walked passed him and motioned with his head to follow. Cloud had nothing better to do, and it wouldn't hurt Daniel to wait a little bit. Cloud was so used to spending time in Daniel's study that he was starting to name the dust bunnies that had collected around some of the old books.

The two stepped inside the elevator and rode all the way to the top. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," the colonel replied as he stepped through security and nodded to the airman who was stationed there to let his friend pass. Jack opened the door and they stepped through. The first thing Cloud noticed was that it was bright. He had to shield his eyes as they stepped outside.

When his eyes adjusted it was like a weight had been lifted.  
>"After being cooped up underground for over a week I thought you might enjoy some fresh air."<p>

Cloud took in the scenery around him. The sky was blue, the greenery stretched for miles and it was like he was back on his home world, though the trees here looked a lot healthier. "It reminds me of home," Cloud replied.

Jack leaned against one of the parked jeeps with his hands in his pockets. "When Teal'c first joined our team I told him that I'd show him my world. I was thinkin' it was about time I did the same for you."

Cloud focused his attention from the scenery back to Jack. "You want me to join your team?"

Jack shrugged, "I still have to talk to Hammond about it, but I figured it's not fair to keep you stuck on the base forever. Believe me; I know there's only so long you can stay on the base before you go bananas."

"Bananas?"

"It's an Earth term, it means go crazy."

After another thirty minutes Jack stood up straight and made to head back when Cloud's question caught him off guard, "Are there any stars at night?"

The colonel turned and noticed the obvious signs of homesickness coming from the man in waves. "Yeah, on clear nights the sky is full of 'em." Jack smirked as he patted Cloud's shoulder. "Tell you what; sometime soon you'll spend the weekend at my place. I've got this nice, quiet cabin with the perfect view of the night sky, You can look at them all you want with my telescope. Sound good?"

Cloud nodded as he followed Jack back inside. It was a quiet elevator ride down until one last question came to mind, "Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"What's a telescope?"


	8. Chapter 8

_I received some interesting reviews to this recently and I wanted to take a moment to address them here. _

_Firstly I wanted to thank RobotToxic for her complement. I didn't really think much of this when I started it. I was mainly trying to satisfy my own curiosity and write it out for fun. ^^ btw, I'm a big fan of your stories as well and advise anyone who likes a good Kingdom Hearts adventure fic to check out her work. It's definitely worth reading. _

_As for making Cloud weak, I don't think I did anything that wouldn't be possible in either series. I want Cloud to be strong as he's the main character in this story, however there's also the other characters to consider. I don't want them fading to the background while he takes the spotlight. He'll have his moments to fully shine though, don't worry. Being the Cloud fangirl that I am I wouldn't do anything to tarnish his character. ;) As for materia, that will come into play a bit later._

_Some of the questions that some of you have asked in earlier chapters start to get answered here, including a possible way for Cloud to reach the Centra. I'm always open to answer questions or listen to any comments you may have. I hope you enjoy this latest chapter. :)_

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><p><em>Chapter Eight<em>

"No."

"Aw c'mon General, it's not like he hasn't given us a reason not to trust him."

"He hasn't given us a reason _to _fully trust him either."

The general was sitting in his office, going over mission reports when the colonel entered and asked him a request that only Jack O'Neill would have the guts to ask. The colonel was a stubborn one and when given an answer he didn't like he either bugged the general into explaining his reasons or annoyed him until he relented.

"That's because you haven't given him the chance to prove himself. Just assign him to my team and we'll do a standard recon or somethin' - even go on one of Daniel's little field trips, nothin' big."

"No."

"Can you throw me a bone here? Why don't you trust him? He agreed to help us out if we found his world. Shouldn't he be allowed to look too?"

"Maybe you haven't noticed Jack, but we still don't know a lot about him. He may not be a Goa'uld, but that doesn't mean he's not dangerous. He could simply be biding his time."

"General - I mean no disrespect and I hope you don't take offense to this, but are you _nuts_?! The guy's been here for a week and you don't think he deserves a little bit of freedom."

General Hammond shook his head. "I'm sorry Jack; just give it a little more time. That's my final word."

It was clear that Jack wanted to keep the argument going, but he knew an order to 'shut up' when he heard it. "Yes sir."

Hammond motioned to the door, "Dismissed."

Jack stormed out of the office, making his disappointment obvious, but it didn't escape his notice that the General didn't seem angry with him, and a little disappointed himself, it could only mean that his hands were tied, but the question was why? Jack decided to do a little snooping.

_...~*~S-SG-1~*~..._

Cloud was sitting in Carter's lab, talking with her as she worked on one of her many pet projects. She knew it was only a matter of time before her team would be taken off standby and would be assigned another mission so she was trying to finish whatever she could. Cloud didn't mind watching, it was a welcome relief from the dusty books of Daniel's lab.

"So, I managed to buy an old motorcycle," she started, "it's pretty beat up and needs several things replaced and since I haven't really had time to work on it at home I thought I'd bring it here to tinker with in my free time."

Cloud was starting to wonder when she'd ever have free time. Every time he saw her she always seemed to be doing three things at once.

"I was wondering if you'd like to help me fix it."

He didn't try to hide a small smirk. It wasn't Fenrir, but working with tools always helped put his mind at ease. "Sure," he replied.

"You okay?" she asked. "You seem like you have something on your mind."

"I can't stop thinking about what might be happening back home,"

"Wanna talk about it?" she asked.

He thought about it for a minute, before deciding it couldn't hurt and maybe getting an outsider's perspective would help. "Major,-"

"-Call me Sam," she interrupted with a smile.

"Sam, how would you apologize to someone after disappearing without a word to them?"

"Well," she pondered, "if it wasn't my fault I'd tell them that first of all, and if they didn't believe it, try to explain what happened without going too much into specifics. I used to have that problem with my father when he tried to get me to join NASA."

"What's that?"

"Our nation's space program; you see Cloud, this base is top secret. Most of the world doesn't know anything about the Stargate or space travel. According to public knowledge the only other place a human has set foot on was the moon and a few roving machines have been sent to a neighboring planet."

"Sounds similar to Gaia, but we haven't managed send anything into space yet, at least not that far. How did you explain it to your dad?"

Carter looked up from her computer and focused on him, "Well, it actually worked out for the better. We found the Tok'ra resistance base and they needed a new host for one of their elders and my father agreed to join them."

"Wait, a host? But I thought the Goa'uld were the enemy?"

Carter smiled at his confusion. "No, The Tok'ra are parasites similar to the Goa'uld, but they are very different. For one, they don't take an unwilling host and both host and symbiote share the body equally. They also don't see themselves as higher beings or gods and have been at war with the Goa'uld for centuries."

"And your dad willingly became one?"

"Well it was either that or he would've died of cancer. It's a sickness that's very common here. It worked out though, now he's helping them and formed an alliance between Earth and the Tok'ra and we share information and help each other out with fighting the Goa'uld."

Later that evening Cloud was leaning against a wall in the mess hall when another alarm sounded, but it ended within a few minutes. Cloud forced himself to relax knowing it was probably another team returning from a mission. He was starting to get antsy and missed going out into the wastelands or the forests just to fight the random monster to blow off steam. Here there was nothing to do and it was starting to eat at him.

Teal'c noticed his demeanor and approached him. "Do you have a moment?"

Cloud's flat expression told the jaffa that was a dumb question before he let out a defeated sigh, "Yeah, I don't have anything else better to do."

Teal'c led him to his quarters and Cloud was surprised to see dozens of lit candles set up around the room.

"What is this?"

"There are times when a jaffa begins to become ill and he must meditate in order to perform Kel'no reem. This allows the symbiote I carry within to cure my ailment."

"I don't see where that would help me," Cloud replied.

"You may also benefit from the meditation as it has a very calming effect on those who perform it."

Teal'c sat down and prepared himself and reluctantly, Cloud did the same. He figured he had nothing to lose at this point and it was better than standing around twiddling his thumbs. Teal'c instructed him on how to reach the state of Kel'no reem and soon the jaffa was falling into his own trance.

It was a little harder for Cloud to focus on clearing his mind, but he eventually reached some level of meditation. At least he assumed it was. It was very faint, but he could hear a collective of voices, but it was like trying to hear through water. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but their feelings came to him like a distant echo. He sensed concern, and fear. A sense of worry stronger than the rest followed by a stronger feeling of joy and there was a voice he could almost make out, it sounded relieved.

The voice, though heavily muffled, sounded familiar to him. He was tempted to call out to it when he sensed something else. It was much closer and reminded him of facing down a Nibel Wolf.

Cloud's eyes shot open only to realize he was still in Teal'c's room, but the jaffa was still in his trance. Cloud closed his eyes again and he could still sense whatever presence had driven him from his own trance. Whatever it was, it felt like it was coming from outside the room.

Careful to be as quiet as he could, Cloud rose to his feet, opened the door and stepped into the hall. It was still there, though he couldn't pinpoint the source. Everything seemed fine. Then a painful moan came from inside the room and Cloud turned to see Teal'c hunched over before he woke from his trance. The jaffa met the blonde's gaze and the look in his eyes told him all he needed to know.

"You felt it to?"

Teal'c looked out into the hall from where he sat, "Indeed."

_...~*~S-SG-1~*~..._

"So, you're saying both of you felt a presence in the hall?"

Teal'c and Cloud were in Daniel's study where he and Carter had been having a conversation when the two walked in.

Daniel looked over at Teal'c, "You think it may be someone sneaking around undetected? Don't the Goa'uld have the technology to become invisible?"

"I did not sense a Goa'uld," replied Teal'c, "though my symbiote was greatly disturbed."

"Didn't that happened once before?" asked Carter.

"Yes, when we fought the Reetou."

"Who are they?" asked Cloud.

"It's more like what," Daniel replied. "A while back we encountered a member of the species who was trying to warn us of a rebel group who were trying to destroy all possible Goa'uld hosts. A few of them made it onto the base, but we defeated them all."

Teal'c leaned back in his chair, "The Reetou are invisible, yet a symbiote becomes very agitated when it senses one is near."

"And you think that's what happened to us?" asked Cloud.

"It is possible."

Carter leaned in closer, "Well wait, that doesn't make sense. How could Cloud sense it?"

"After fighting monsters for years you learn to sense when a predator is nearby," he replied. He wasn't sure either, but it was the only explanation he could come up with.

Any further discussion was cut off as O'Neill stormed into the room. "This is bullshit!"

"Oh boy," replied Daniel, not liking where this was going.

"Something wrong, sir?" asked Carter.

He looked up at her with an annoyed glare that made her regret asking. "Oh yeah. It seems our good buddy Simmons wants to drag Cloud off to some lab for his science geeks to dissect."

Cloud completely froze as the rest of the team looked at Jack in shock.

"They can't be serious?" Daniel stated.

"General Hammond couldn't have authorized it, could he?" asked Carter.

"Hammond's trying to find out where Simmons' orders came from and try to overrule them, but the cocky bastard's trying to get him shipped out before the orders can get through to the higher ups." Jack stopped in mid-rant as he noticed Cloud's reaction. "Don't worry Sparky, you're not goin' anywhere. I don't care what Simmons says."

"Well sir, we may have another problem on our hands," Carter added.

"And what's that?"

It was Teal'c who answered, "Cloud and myself may have sensed the presence of a Reetou."

Jack's eyes widened as he turned his head, hoping he had heard wrong, "Come again?"

"During my Kel'no reem my symbiote became agitated. When I woke I saw Cloud standing at the door and looking into the hall. It appeared we both sensed it."

Jack didn't say another word. Instead he stormed out and headed straight for Hammond's office. Cloud and the rest of the team followed.

_...~*~S-SG-1~*~..._

In Hammond's office both the general and Simmons were once again butting heads and Simmons was not happy. "General, you were given orders to ready the alien for transport and yet you allow him to roam freely on the base? I find your methods regarding the security of this facility in question."

"I find the origin of your orders in question," the general retorted. "I called the pentagon; there is no record of any transfer order."

"General, you're wasting your breath, the orders in that file are all the authority I need and I'm growing tired of-"

"General!"

Both turned to look at O'Neill who had just entered, "Permission to barge in sir,"

Hammond nodded, "What is it Colonel?"

"We may have a Reetou on the base."

The general didn't even hesitate before picking up the phone. "This is Hammond, seal off the mountain. No one comes or goes."

"What's a Reetou?" asked Simmons.

"An invisible being capable of unleashing a great deal of damage," replied Teal'c who had just arrived with the others.

Simmons rolled his eyes, "General, please don't tell me you've grown this desperate. An invisible force? Are you that determined to defy these orders? I have half a mind to use my authority to order his transfer right now."

"Oh for cryin' out loud, Simmons, when are you going to pull your head out of your ass?"

"Back up colonel, I'm just following orders."

"Oh yeah? Well so am I."

"And what orders are those?"

While the two colonels continued to bicker Carter noticed something, "Ah, colonel,"

Teal'c was holding his stomach and leaning over. Cloud felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. That same presence they felt before was near and he tried to pinpoint it. It wasn't behind them, so there was only one direction it had to be coming from. "There!"

The door leading to the briefing room flew open and a blast of energy flew at the group, "Look out!" Jack pushed the general down while everyone else jumped to the side. Teal'c slowly got up and looked around, "I believe we're in the clear."

"For now, but we still got a pack of hostile bugs running wild," Jack stated while glaring at Simmons. "Believe me now?"

"How did they get here?" Simmons blurted out before turning towards the swordsman, "Friends of yours?"

Cloud only responded with a cold glare. "If they were my friends they wouldn't have missed."

Simmons' glare narrowed in response and was about to reply when Hammond issued his orders. "Colonel, break out the T.E.R.s and do a sweep of the base. Take a team and seal the doors as you go. I want every one of those bugs destroyed. Teal'c you can sense when they're nearby, help them. Major Carter, take another team and do the same from the other side of the base,-"

"I'd like to help," Cloud offered and nodded towards the major.

Hammond cast a glance over at him before looking back over at Carter. "Teal'c said he sensed the Reetou first, sir."

Hammond nodded, "Very well. Mr. Strife will assist Major Carter's team."

"I can't allow that. I want him placed in a secure holding cell until this mess is over," argued Simmons.

Hammond gave the colonel a look that made Simmons feel like he was staring down a grizzly bear. "We're in the middle of an emergency situation, Colonel. I'll take all the help I can get." He then turned to the rest of the team, "Alright, people you have your orders. Move out."

"I'll need my sword," Cloud added as they headed for the stairs. Hammond gave it some thought before catching the look from Jack. "Very well," he replied. "Carter, head to the armory first."

"Yes sir," she replied as she and Cloud headed off in one direction while Daniel, Teal'c and Jack headed off in the other. Both teams selecting other SG members for backup as they went.


	9. Chapter 9

_The followng is a fairly long A/N, which I normally try to keep short, but there are several topics to address to my wonderful readers. _

_Hey guys, Finally here's a new chapter. I know it's really late, but life got in the way. What can you do? I appreciate all of your reviews guys and I'm truly humbled by the praise, really. It means a lot. ^_^ _

_**KH-Junkie:**__ I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'm not really a fan of any of the off-shoot series following SG-1, nor am I a fan of SG-1 Seasons 9 and 10, but it's always a nice surprise when something that's not really your forte catches your interest. ^^ I see what you mean, but there is one thing that would cause Cloud to not know what certain items were, I believe the only 'telescope' he's ever seen was the large space dome that belongs to Nanaki's grandfather, but it wasn't called a telescope. I forget what it was called, but it had a different name. Cloud will know what it is once he see's it. ;)_

_**Isame Kuroda:**__ I think I've come up with something interesting for materia and I'm glad to be writing some action finally without Cloud being knocked around. Hmm, where did those bugs come from? Good question. Guess you'll just have to wait and find out. ;3_

_**Yua-hime: **__There is no need to apologize. We all get busy. It's cool. ^^ Haha, who else in deed? Zack may be a puppy, but he's got the nose of a bloodhound. Besides, he'd never let Spiky out of his sights for long. xD I fully agree about the all-powerful bit. It just doesn't make for a good story to write for a show off, even if he doesn't really mean to show off. The guy may be enhanced with mako, but he's still human and all humans have their limits, no matter how strong they are. _

_**RobotToxic: **__I know, I hate Simmons too. Thinking he can come in and do as he pleases. He needs to be careful, because he has no idea who he's dealing with. Sure hope he doesn't push the wrong button. Though, threatening to drag Cloud off to a lab was probably one of them...oops. His chances of getting out alive aren't looking too good. But seriously, thank you. That really means a lot to know I'm getting everybody right. I said it once before, but O'Neill is HARD! And trying to write a conversation between Cloud and Teal'c is also a challenge considering they're both like the strong, silent type. But I enjoy a good challenge. ^_^_

_**anonymous1stClass: **__Oh no worries, some scenes on Gaia are in the works, but it may be a bit still before it really gets back into showing what's going on. I have a bad habit of keeping people in suspense. I've also been told I like to tease. Eh, heh, not something I do on purpose, I promise. But I'm glad you're enjoying it. It only makes me want to work harder to write the best story I can. ^^ I'm also glad that it helps with what you had worked on. I've left a few stories on my computer to die and it breaks my heart to see them sitting there, but I don't have the heart to delete them either, so I totally get it. Maybe one day you'll pick it back up and remake it into something awesome? I'd be happy to read it if you did. ^^_

_To all my other wonderfully amazing reviewers, know that even if I don't reply or address you personally here, know that I read every single review and take everything into account. Thank you, and to my readers, favs and followers as well. It's because of you that this story even made it past chapter four so, you guys are really awesome. Now that my longest A/N yet is out of the way...please enjoy this latest chapter. ^_^_

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><p><em>Chapter Nine<em>

Carter kept her back pressed against the wall as she led the way to the armory. Glancing over at Cloud she motioned with her eyes for him to see if he sensed any Reetou down the hall or around the corner. He inched closer to the edge and glanced around the corner, true his eyes would be useless trying to spot any foes, but it'd help him sense the creatures better. Looking back towards Carter he gave her a thumbs up indicating that there was nothing.

She nodded towards the other members of her chosen team and they made their way around the corner and down the hall. Once at the armory door, Carter slid her keycard and the light on the scanner blinked green. Opening the door, she waited for the others to go in first and followed Cloud who brought up the rear, keeping alert for any Reetou that may come from the way they had.

When the door closed behind him Cloud looked around the room and was impressed with what he saw. The room was filled with several different types of guns. He saw a few of the same kind of weapon that Jack had used along with several blocks of brown clay. Cloud picked one up and examined it.

"Careful, that's C-4. A marble-sized piece of it could blow your hand off," Carter warned him and he set the block back down carefully. Cloud looked over the rest of the closet-sized room and saw a few of the weapons the jaffa used. A couple of staff weapons he guessed were held back for Teal'c along with a dozen or so zat guns. That's when one of the other members picked up a strange device that was a bit bigger than a zat and handed one to Carter who showed it to him.

"This is a T.E.R. It emits a wave of energy that allows us to see the Reetou and it also launches a blast that can kill them."

"How effective are they?" asked Cloud.

Carter started passing them out to the other team members, "You'll find out soon enough."

Cloud shrugged and was about to head for the door since they had gotten the weapons they needed when he noticed something that put him in a sour mood. "It's not here," he replied.

"Are you sure?" asked Carter.

"It's a big sword, pretty hard to miss, so yeah, I'm sure."

"The engineers must not be finished with it," Carter surmised. "We'll keep a look out for it as we go. Most of the labs are on this side of the complex anyway."

Carter handed him a T.E.R. and made sure everyone was ready before heading for the exit. Cloud stepped out first, checking to make sure they were in the clear and with a thumbs up the team moved out.

_...~*~S-SG-1~*~..._

General Hammond was in his office trying to remind the Colonel of his place, but Simmons seemed determined to test his patience to the fullest extent.

"I don't think you realize the gift that's been thrown on our doorstep, General. If we could figure out how he repels a Goa'uld then we could save millions of lives."

Hammond was trying his best to hold his temper, but this man never made it easy. "We've been over this Colonel, whether he holds the key to Goa'uld immunity or not, I'm not willing to condemn him to become a specimen for science."

"Specimen?" repeated Simmons, "General, he'll be treated as a guest and made quite comfortable. But if he were to refuse then of course he'd be restrained, but we do that with everyone."

"So, you're saying he'd receive equal treatment?" asked the General.

"Of course, he is human, isn't he? Besides, it seems he's proving more useful as time goes on. Not only can he repel a Goa'uld, but he can also sense an invisible creature that so far only the jaffa can detect without the aid of a device? Something must be going on inside of that alien brain to grant him these gifts and we'd be fools to not explore it."

Hammond seemed to be considering the possibilities from Simmons' point of view, but the moment Simmons had his back turned the General couldn't hold back a look of hatred. For once Colonel O'Neill's wild accusations were dead on and the general shared Jack's pure disgust for the colonel.

_...~*~S-SG-1~*~..._

Jack aimed his T.E.R. around the corner and looked over at Daniel who was on the other side of the opening. "Anything?" he mouthed to him. Daniel shook his head and Jack double-checked with Teal'c before nodding to the others to move ahead. The colonel brought up the rear and spoke into his radio, "Corridor C-9 west secure."

As they continued checking and sealing off corridors Jack's patience was growing thinner by the minute. He was hoping to run into the bugs sooner so he could let off some steam. Simmons always got on his nerves whenever he came to visit and every time Jack had to resist the urge to shoot him. Now he was really thinking about doing it, but he'd settle for a few bugs instead. "Where are they?"

"I believe they are searching for the best places to plant a powerful explosive," Teal'c answered.

Jack sent a glare to his friend, but bit back a smart-mouthed retort, remembering who he was talking to, "Thank you, Teal'c. That narrows it down."

Daniel kept an eye on the space behind them as they sealed off yet another corridor. "How do you think they got here? I thought we set something up to prevent them from getting through undetected?"

"I don't know," Jack replied.

"Do you think they came back with us when we escaped Nut's fortress?" asked Daniel.

Both the Colonel and the jaffa shook their heads. "Nut and the other jaffa would have sensed their presence," Teal'c answered.

"Besides, there would have been too many people in the gate room to go undetected," Jack added.

"Perhaps they came through with another team," Teal'c suggested.

"Well, we'll figure that part out later. For now let's keep the chit chat to a minimum, huh?" With that Jack and the others checked a corner before rounding it and headed down another corridor.

_...~*~S-SG-1~*~…_

Carter's team were half-way down a hall when the lights went out and only emergency lighting remained.

"What's going on?" asked Cloud.

"It helps give the T.E.R.s a wider range," she cut off as she looked right at the blonde who gave her a look in return. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just... never mind." She didn't want to comment about his eyes which were glowing in the darkness. He already had enough reason to worry with Simmons trying to drag him away.

They had just reached the end of the hall when Cloud sensed a presence behind them. On instinct he pushed Carter around the corner and ducked low just as a blast of plasma energy came zipping through the air, striking where they had been just seconds before. Cloud then raised the weapon, which was difficult to wield and fired a shot. It focused on the creature and Cloud finally got a good look at the so-called bugs. He had fought countless hideous monsters back home, but this thing reached a new level of ugly. His aim hadn't been perfect and he only managed to wound it by striking one of its legs. Carter finished it off with a blast that struck it in the chest and it exploded before fading out of sight.

"The sooner I find my sword the better," he said as the other team members came around the corner.

Carter nodded before picking up her radio and looked at the camera mounted in the corner of the hall. "This section is clear. Colonel, I think we're getting close. We just encountered one of the creatures."

"_Did ya get 'em?"_ he asked over the radio.

"Yes sir," she replied.

"_Good work Carter."_

_...~*~S-SG-1~*~…_

Aerith sat in a small patch of white flowers. It was one of her favorite places within the Lifestream. A place where she and Cloud spent often, mostly when he slept on the outside. But now she was sitting there alone. She plucked one of the flowers, knowing it wouldn't harm the plant in a place like this and stared at it as her mind roamed elsewhere. "Cloud,..."

Approaching footsteps made her look up, her spirit hoped for a minute, but was quickly dashed when she saw black hair instead of blonde, though she wasn't very disappointed. "Still no luck?" she asked.

Zack let out a frustrated sigh as he sat down. "I think...I'm pretty sure I almost reached him."

Aerith's eyes widened as she leaned closer to him. "So he's alive?"

"Of course he is," Zack replied in a grumpy tone. "If he wasn't he'd be here with us."

"That's true," she replied. "So, if you sensed him then why are you feeling so down?"

Zack glanced over at her before looking down at the flowers. "Because I think...I think he's in trouble. He was trying to reach out to me, but it was so faint, it's like he's miles away. I sensed him calling out, but right when I tried calling back something got in the way. It was closer to him, but it still felt threatening."

Zack's fist slammed down on the flowers. "Damn!"

Aerith wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "He'll be alright Zack. Remember, he has your skills."

The ex-SOLDIER nodded, "Yeah, I know...but, still."

Aerith smiled warmly at him, "Hehe, you're such a mother hen."

The two were being watched, the other Ancients weren't as confident as Aerith and Zack were and they had another problem on their hands. The gate was still unburied. They left to seek out the only other person who may be able to do what the world's champion could not.

* * *

><p><em>I know this chapter wasn't very long, but this is the sixth time it's been rewritten and I've waited long enough to upload it. The next chapter will be longer and hopefully easier. I just wasn't going to make anyone wait any longer for an update. A year and a half is unacceptable and I can only ask for your forgiveness. I also decided to show a slight glimpse of what was going on back on Gaia, well the Lifestream of Gaia anyway. There will be more scenes involving Cloud's home later on. Thank you everyone who has stuck with this for so long and to all the new readers following along, I say, welcome to my crossover and thank you. :) <em>


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